International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday named Pakistan’s young pacer Shaheen Afridi as the winner of Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ‘Player of the Year’ for 2021.Swing, seam, sheer pace and sizzling yorkers – Shaheen Shah Afridi gave an exhibition of it all in the year 2021.
Topped by a sizzling opening spell against India at last year’s T20 World Cup encounter where he dismissed both Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, Shaheen Afridi took 78 wickets in 36 internationals at an average of 22.20 with best bowling figures of 6/51 in the year 2021.
After a slow start to the year in Test cricket in New Zealand, Afridi burst to life during the home series against South Africa. He continued his brilliant form throughout the rest of the year in the away tours of Zimbabwe, West Indies and Bangladesh. Overall, he claimed 47 wickets in only nine matches at a staggering average of 17.06.
A high-pressure encounter against India in Dubai beckoned in October. The T20 World Cup tournament opener for both sides with the history well and truly against Pakistan. But Shaheen Afridi’s opening burst changed it all and evoked audible gasps from one and all at the wizardry on display.
He would first trap Rohit Sharma with a late in-dipper. This would be followed by the dismissal of KL Rahul, who saw his stumps knocked over with another peach of a delivery. India simply could not recover from this, slumping to their first-ever defeat against Pakistan at a World Cup. Later on, he would also get the prized scalp of Virat Kohli in the death overs.The numbers (3/31) simply do not do justice to what everyone witnessed from Shaheen on that fateful day in Dubai.
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